Locking handle cock

ABSTRACT

A lockable valve used in a pneumatic line extending between adjacent railroad cars. The valve has a main body with a passage extending therethrough. A blocking member is pivotally mounted to the main body and extends across the passage. A handle is mounted externally to the blocking member and may be pivoted with the blocking member to and from a first position wherein fluid flow through the passage is allowed and to and from a second position wherein fluid flow through the passage is blocked by the member. The handle and blocking member have depending ears which are positionable against a projection and a ledge on the main body. In order to pivot the handle and blocking member to and from the first position and second position, the handle must be pivoted upward past the ledge and projection. A cylinder lock is mounted to the handle and has a movable cam which may be lockingly positioned beneath the ledge to prevent movement of the handle to the upward position thereby preventing movement of the blocking member from the first position to the second position.

United States Patent 1 1 Lemley 1 1 Feb. 18, 1975 1 LOCKING HANDLE COCK[75] inventor: Luther H. Lemley, Lafayette, Ind.

[73] Assignee: Willem Corporation, Rushville, Ind.

[22] Filed: Oct. 26, 1972 21 Appl. No.: 301,164

[52] US. Cl. 70/176 [51] Int. Cl. Fl6k 35/00 [58] Field of Search70/175, 176, 177, 178,

Primary Examiner-Werner H. Schroeder Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Woodard,Weikart, Emhardt 8L Naughton ABSTRACT A lockable valve used in apneumatic line extending between adjacent railroad cars. The valve has amain body with a passage extending therethrough. A blocking member ispivotally mounted to the main body and extends across the passage. Ahandle is mounted externally to the blocking member and may be pivotedwith the blocking member to and from a first position wherein fluid flowthrough the passage is allowed and to and from a second position whereinfluid flow through the passage is blocked by the member. The handle andblocking member have depending ears which are positionable against aprojection and a ledge on the main body. In order to pivot the handleand blocking member to and from the first position and second position,the handle must be pivoted upward past the ledge and projection. Acylinder lock is mounted to the handle and has a movable cam which maybe lockingly positioned beneath the ledge to prevent movement of thehandle to the upward position thereby preventing movement of theblocking member from the first position to the second position.

2 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PATENTEU FEB 1 8 I975 sum 10F 5 PATENTED f3,866,446

' SHEET 2 OF 3 LOCKING HANDLE COCK BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Fieldof the Invention This invention is in the field of locking stop cocks.

2. Description of the Prior Art In the event that an angle cock in therailroad train brake pipe has been closed by an unauthorized person orhas been negligently closed, the engineer will lose control of thebrakes of the train especially if the angle cock is closed near the headend of the train. Serious accidents are then liable to happen since theengineer cannot apply the brakes to stop the train in case of necessity.To prevent the unauthorized or accidental movement of the angle cock, alocking handle cock was devised and is disclosed in the US. Pat. No.1,447,651 issued to C. C. Farmer. Another such lock is disclosed in theUS. Pat. No. 852,303 issued to C. H. Thompson. Three other differenttypes of locks are disclosed in the following US. Pat. Nos: 606,680issued to M. OSullivan; 724,912 issued to F. H. Mobley; and 838,308issued to S. H. Dunning.

Over the years, the design of the valve which is used in the pneumaticline of the railroad train has been changed and improved. Thus, thelocks which were previously available are not easily adaptable to thenew structures. As a result, the valves or stop cocks presently in useare not provided with any means for locking the valves in the openedposition. Disclosed herein is an improvement over the prior art lockingstop cocks in that the lock disclosed herein may be very readily mountedto the existing valves or stop cocks presently in use. As a result, itis unnecessary to completely replace the stop cocks as would benecessary if some of the prior art locks were utilized.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION One embodiment of the present invention is in avalve used in a pneumatic line extending between adjacent railroad cars,the valve having a tubular main body with an inlet, an outlet and apassage extending therebetween, the valve also having a blocking memberpivotally mounted to the main body and extending across the passage, thevalve further having handle means mounted to the blocking member, themeans being operable to pivot the blocking member to and from a firstposition wherein fluid flow through the passage is allowed and to andfrom a second position wherein fluid flow through the passage is blockedby the blocking member, the main body having a ledge with a first stopsurface and a projection with a second stop surface, the handle meanshaving a handle pivotally mounted to the member being pivotable to andfrom a downward position and an upward position. the handle having afirst depending ear and the member having a second depending ear, thefirst and second ear positioned adjacent and between respectively thesecond stop surface and the first stop surface when the handle is in thedownward position and the member is in the first position preventingmovement of the member from the first position to the second position,the handle being movable to the upward position whereupon the handle andthe member may be then pivoted to the second position wherein theimprovement comprises lock means mounted to the handle being operable tolock the handle to the ledge preventing movement of the handle from thedownward position to the upward position when the member is in the firstposition.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improvedlocking stop cock.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a lock whichmay be easily mounted to the existing valves or stop cocks in use onrailroad train cars.

Yet another object of the present invention is to pro-' vide a valve foruse in the pneumatic lines which extend between adjacent railroad carswhich may be easily locked in the open position.

Related objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparentfrom the following description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERREDEMBODIMENT For the purposes of promoting an understanding of theprinciples of the invention, reference will now be made to theembodiments illustrated in the drawings and specific language will beused to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that nolimitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended, suchalterations and further modifications in the illustrated device, andsuch further applications of the principles of the invention asillustrated therein being contemplated as would normally occur to oneskilled in the art to which the invention relates.

Referring now more particularly to FIG. I, there is shown a valve whichis used in a pneumatic line which extends between adjacent railroadcars. The tubular main body 11 of valve 10 is provided with an inlet 12and an outlet 13 with passage 19 extending therebetween. End 13 isprovided with external threads 14 for receiving an internally threadedcollar 15 to secure the main body to the pneumatic line at end 13. EndI2 is also coupled to the pneumatic line in a conventional manner.

Pivotally mounted to body 11 is a blocking member 17 which extendsacross passage 19. Handle 16 is pivotally connected to member 17 and ismovable from the position shown in FIG. 1 to the position shown in FIG.5. Fluid flow through passage 19 is not blocked by member 17 when handle16 is aligned with the main body; however, when the handle is turned tothe sideways position as shown in FIG. 5, the blocking member is pivotedso as to completely extend across and block passage 19. Cap plate 18 ismounted to main body 11 and provides the pivotable mounting of blockingmember 17. A variety of means may be utilized for the pivotal mountingof member 17. In addition, a variety of means may be utilized to insurethe blockage of passage 19 when member 17 is pivoted to the secondposition (FIG. 5). For example, blocking member 17 may be sufficientlythin so as to not block passage 19 when it is pivoted to the firstposition as shown in FIG. 1 whereas the blocking member may have asufficiently large width to block passage 19 when it is pivoted to thesecond position shown in FIG. 5.

Handle 16 is provided with a hole 24 through which member 17 projects(FIG. 2). Member 17 has extension 20 rigidly secured thereto whichpivotally receives portion 21 (FIG. 1) of handle 16. Pin 22 extendsthrough portion 21 and extension 20 providing for the pivotal mountingof the handle and thereby allowing the handle to be pivoted from adownward position to an upward position.

The main body of the valve is provided with a ledge 26 (FIG. 4) whichhas a stop surface 27. In addition, projection 32 is provided on mainbody 11 and has a stop surface 33 (FIG. 1). Handle 16 is provided withtwo depending ears 28 and 30 (FIG. 3) whereas member 17 is provided withdepending car 34 (FIG. 4). Ears 34 and 30 are positioned adjacent andbetween stop surfaces 27 and 33 when the handle is in the downwardposition and blocking member 17 is in the first position correspondingto the location of the handle as shown in FIG. 1, thereby allowing fluidflow through the passage. As a result, movement of the handle isprevented to the second position as shown in FIG. since ears 34 and 30contact stop surfaces 27 and 33. In order to move the handle to thissecond position shown in FIG. 5, the handle is pivoted upward allowingsurface 31, ear 30 to move upwardly over projection 32 past stop surface33 and is then rotated with the blocking member to the position shown inFIG. 5 with the handle then being pivoted to the downward position asshown in FIG. 5. As a result, fluid flow through the passage is blocked.In the blocked position, ears 28 and 34 are positioned between andadjacent stop surfaces 27 and 33 thereby preventing movement of thehandle to the first position until the handle is pivoted upward and thenrotated.

To prevent accidental or unauthorized movements of handle 16, theimprovement is to mount a cylinder lock 41 to the fiat portion 40 (FIG.5) of handle 16 immediately adjacent hole 24 and over ledge 26 when thehandle is in the position corresponding to the open position. Cylinderlock 41 may be a conventional lock having a top flange preventingmovement of the lock completely through the handle and being secured onthe bottom side of the handle by a conventional hexagonally shaped nut44. The lock is operable when the appropriate key is inserted and turnedto pivot a cam 45 beneath ledge 26 and adjacent to the bottom surface 47of the ledge. As a result, handle 16 is prevented from pivoting to theupward position and thus, the handle and blocking member may not bepivoted to the closed position. This is true since surface 49 of ear 34is adjacent to stop surface 27, ear 30 is adjacent to stop surface 33and cam 45 is beneath and adjacent surface 47. It should be noted thatthe thickness 43 of portion 40 of the handle is sufficiently thin so asto allow for the easy insertion of the cylinder lock. As a result,presently utilized valves may be easily modified with the cylinder lock.

While in the open position 26 shown in FIG. 5, the lock is not operableto secure the handle in the downward position; however, stop surface 29of ear 28 is positioned adjacent to stop surface 27 thereby preventingthe accidental movement of the handle back to the open position unlessthe handle is first pivoted to the upward position. Likewise, surface 31of ear 30 prevents the handle from being pivoted to the closed positionunless the lock is first unlocked and the handle is then pivoted upward.Member 17 is provided with an extension 23 which extends into recess 25(FIG. 2) of the handle thereby allowing the handle to contact theblocking member at extension 20 as well as extension 23 providing forease of movement of the blocking member. Extension 23 extends downwardlyforming ear 34.

While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in thedrawings and foregoing description, the same is to be considered asillustrative and not restrictive in character, it being understood thatonly the preferred embodiments have been shown and described and thatall changes and modifications that come within the spirit of theinvention are desired to be protected;

I claim:

1. In a valve used in a pneumatic line extending between adjacentrailroad cars, said valve having a tubular main body with an inlet, anoutlet and a passage extending therebetween, said valve also having ablocking member pivotally mounted to said main body and extending acrosssaid passage, said valve further having handle means mounted to saidblocking member, said means being operable to pivot said blocking memberto and from a first position wherein fluid flow through said passage isallowed and to and from a second position wherein fluid flow throughsaid passage is blocked by said blocking member, said main body having aledge with a first stop surface and a projection with a second stopsurface, said handle means having a handle pivotally mounted to saidmember being pivotable to and from a downward position and an upwardposition, said handle having a first depending ear and said memberhaving a second depending ear, said first and second ear positionedadjacent and between respectively said second stop surface and saidfirst stop surface when said handle is in said downward position andsaid member is in said first position preventing movement of said memberfrom said first position to said second position, said handle includes aflat top wall having a slot extending therethrough with said second earof said member extending through said slot, said handle being movable tosaid upward position whereupon said handle and said member may be thenpivoted to said second position wherein the improvement comprises lockmeans mounted to said handle being operable to lock said handle to saidledge preventing movement of said handle from said downward position tosaid upward position when said member is in said first position, saidlocking means is a cylinder lock mounted to said flat top wall adjacentsaid slot with said cylinder lock having a movable cam wall movablebeneath said ledge.

2. The valve of claim 1 wherein:

said handle has a third depending ear positionable against said firststop surface while said second depending ear is positioned against saidsecond stop surface when said handle is in said downward position andsaid member is in said second position preventing movement of saidmember to said first position while said handle is in said downwardposition;

said means is operable by a key fittable into said cylinder lock.

1. In a valve used in a pneumatic line extending between adjacentrailroad cars, said valve having a tubular main body with an inlet, anoutlet and a passage extending therebetween, said valve also having ablocking member pivotally mounted to said main body and extending acrosssaid passage, said valve further having handle means mounted to saidblocking member, said means being operable to pivot said blocking memberto and from a first position wherein fluid flow through said passage isallowed and to and from a second position wherein fluid flow throughsaid passage is blocked by said blocking member, said main body having aledge with a first stop surface and a projection with a second stopsurface, said handle means having a handle pivotally mounted to saidmember being pivotable to and from a downward position and an upwardposition, said handle having a first depending ear and said memberhaving a second depending ear, said first and second ear positionedadjacent and between respectively said second stop surface and saidfirst stop surface when said handle is in said downward position andsaid member is in said first position preventing movement of said memberfrom said first position to said second position, said handle includes aflat top wall having a slot extending therethrough with said second earof said member extending through said slot, said handle being movable tosaid upward position whereupon said handle and said member may be thenpivoted to said second position wherein the improvement comprises lockmeans mounted to said handle being operable to lock said handle to saidledge preventing movement of said handle from said downward position tosaid upward position when said member is in said first position, saidlocking means is a cylinder lock mounted to said flat top wall adjacentsaid slot with said cylinder lock having a movable cam wall movablebeneath said ledge.
 2. The valve of claim 1 wherein: said handle has athird depending ear positionable against said first stop surface whilesaid second depending ear is positioned against said second stop surfacewhen said handle is in said downward position and said member is in saidsecond position preventing movement of said member to said firstposition while said handle is in said downward position; said means isoperable by a key fittable into said cylinder lock.